


Firm (Coming Soon To Theaters Near You)

by FrivolousSuits



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hollywood, F/F, Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 07:44:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11642073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrivolousSuits/pseuds/FrivolousSuits
Summary: Donna is a film star, Harvey is the best closer in Hollywood, Mike is a strange, strange child, and Rachel is Aaron Korsh.





	Firm (Coming Soon To Theaters Near You)

It’s a hot, hazy night in Bel Air, and Harvey Specter– agent, dealmaker, the greatest closer in L.A., the unofficial king of Hollywood– is circling his next conquest like a hunter on the prowl. His chosen prey is an actress whom he wouldn’t have recognized before this party, but he decided to snatch her up as soon as she walked in with that flame-red hair and tossed him a knowing, challenging smile.

“I’m Harvey Specter,” he says, reaching out a hand.

She shakes it firmly and says, “I know. I was wondering how long it’d take you to work up the courage to introduce yourself.”

For a second, his usual schmoozing smile slips into something more genuine as he replies, “I assure you I don’t lack courage. I’d be glad to let you personally confirm that other qualities of mine aren’t lacking either.”

She chuckles. “I could take you up on that offer, but I can give you something even better.”

“You’re gonna invite a friend?” he says, raising an eyebrow and smirking. “Male, female, other– I’m very open-minded.”

“No, I’m offering you me, as a client.”

“I’m not here to talk business–”

“First off, you’re always ready to talk business– you haven’t taken a vacation in a good five years. Second of all, you’re definitely here to talk business tonight, because Travis Tanner just landed a major client, and you want to show him up and put him in his place.” He opens his mouth, and she says, “And before you ask, no, I’m not giving up my sources.”

He snorts. “How do you know all this?”

“I know everything. Specifically, I know that Stephen Huntley, my current agent, is on his way down, and that I need to find a winner to represent me going forward. I also know that you aren’t willing to both sleep with me and work with me, not after the Dana Scott debacle, which is why I’m telling you all this now and not over breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“You know how to act?”

“Undergrad degree at Tisch and the Lee Strasberg Institute, MFA in acting from Yale.”

He blinks, and she can see him re-evaluating. “Why me?”

“Because we’re both damn good at what we do and hungry for success. And because your former boss is directing one of the most interesting films I’ve heard of in my life, and I want an audition.”

“I’m not sending Jessica anyone but the best.”

“Good thing you’re sending me. And oh, I should introduce myself. I’m Donna.”

* * *

If Donna wasn’t as good as she was, she’d be alarmed at how quickly Harvey signs her upon looking into her previous work. But she is that sublimely, divinely good, and Jessica Pearson casts her in her period drama _Firm_ soon afterwards. She’s in one of the starring roles, naturally.

By the sheer power of being Jessica Pearson, Jessica ties up funding, finishes hiring, and moves to the production stage surprisingly quickly, and Donna finds herself filming on location within weeks.

“Hi, I’m Rachel Zane, I’ll be showing you both around the mansion.”

Donna glances at one of the supporting actors, Michael Ross, a young man with golden hair and unfairly blue eyes, and momentarily rues the fact that her make-out scene’s with an entirely different actor.

“Wow,” Mike immediately replies to Rachel, “you’re pretty.”

Donna raises an eyebrow at him, but she also sneaks another look at Rachel. He’s not wrong. At all.

“Good,” Rachel says with a passive-aggressive smile that even Donna has to envy, “you’ve hit on me. We can get it out of the way that I am not interested.”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t hitting on you–”

“Trust me, I’ve met dozens of up-and-coming actors and, without fail, whatever new hotshot it is thinks that, because I’m just an assistant, I will somehow be blown away by his dazzling smile, let me assure you I won’t. I don’t swing that way in the slightest.”

And then Donna looks back at Mike, who’s currently undergoing a revelation. “I was.”

“Mm-hmm,” Rachel says, sweet as syrup.

“I was hitting on you.”

“You were,” she coos like a particularly proud preschool teacher. “Now let’s go on with the tour.”

Scratch that. Rachel’s definitely the one Donna wants a make-out scene with.

* * *

Donna doesn’t appear in the first scene they shoot, so she stays in her dressing room, re-reading her lines, taking notes in her script. She hears a knock on the door.

“Come in!”

It’s Rachel, with a folder tucked under her arm. “Sorry to bother you, but Jessica just obtained some letters from the Archives of American Art that might help inform your choices in the teapot scene.”

“Wow, where does she find the time?”

Rachel smiles, tucking a wayward curl behind her ear. “Well, to be more precise, she told me to obtain them, and that’s exactly what I did.”

“You like research?”

She shrugs. “I’m very good at it, even if it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

Before Donna can reply, a message comes through on their walkie-talkies: “Rachel, what’s your 20?”

“By the dressing rooms, I’ll be back up in two minutes,” she says before looking back at Donna. “Sorry, I gotta–”

“Yeah, go do what you need to do.”

“I’ll see you around.”

As she watches Rachel stroll away, Donna murmurs, “I’m looking forward to it.”

* * *

They dance around each other in one late-night research session after another. Finally, Donna asks Rachel out.

With a teasing smile, she says, “I was wondering how long it’d take you to finally make your move.”

“I knew you were wondering.”

“Did you know I already decided on my answer?”

“Of course, and I wouldn’t have asked unless it was an enthusiastic yes.”

* * *

Once they finish shooting on-location, they head back to L.A. Donna lingers around the set one night after filming, reviewing the next day’s scenes. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Mike leaving his dressing room.

“You need help running lines?” As he passes behind her, he peers over her shoulder at her script. “I’ve got that scene memorized–”

“No, I’m fine,” she says. Then she catches the kicked-puppy look on his face and explains, “I have to go meet Rachel in a couple minutes anyway.”

“What are you doing?” he asks.

Donna considers telling him they’ll be doing something work-related, but she opts for honesty. “She insists Shunji has the best sushi in SoCal, so we’re going to go try it out.”

“Yeah, Shunji’s awesome. The omakase sets are upwards of a hundred dollars each, but so worth it.”

Donna raises an eyebrow. “Sounds good. She’s quite the foodie, so I’m excited to explore L.A. with her.”

“Hang on, is this– is this a date?”

“Yeah, it is.”

She expects those innocent baby blues to fill with tears, but instead he grins broadly. “Hey, that’s great. You two enjoy your sushi, and I’m just gonna . . . go sleep.”

“Right.”

“At my apartment.”

". . . Right.”

Mike hesitates for a second, then does an awkward finger-gun snap and stumbles away.

* * *

“Mike is such a strange child,” Donna says as she relates the whole scene to Rachel over sushi. “I don’t know how he functions!”

“My question is how he affords a omakase set. He doesn’t get steady work, to the best of my knowledge, and it’s even hard for me to buy this without falling back on Daddy’s credit card.” Rachel rolls her eyes.

“You’re an independent woman, huh?”

“That’s the aim,” she says. “It’s not always feasible, but I’m attempting to establish myself without relying on the name of ‘Robert Zane, famous producer.’”

“Speaking of establishing yourself . . . you never did tell me what you wanted to spend the rest of your life doing, if not research.”

Rachel chuckles, suddenly bashful. “It’s a little silly.”

“When I was younger, I wanted to grow up to be Joan Holloway. Try me.”

“Well, I’m a writer.” She pauses.

“And?”

“See, that was the jump scare, and this is the part where you run screaming.”

“I’m an actress, darling, it takes more than that to get rid of me. What do you write?”

“I’m interested in film in the long term, but right now I’m working on an idea for a TV show.”

“What kind of TV show?”

“A legal drama? It’s not a procedural exactly, or at least I don’t want it to be. It’s about these two characters, Jim and Reg, and Jim is a pothead but also a secret genius and Reg is a shark in the world of New York corporate law, and he decides to hire Jim as an associate– that’s a junior lawyer– except Jim doesn’t have an actual degree and– oh god, I never explain this well.” She sinks her face into her hands.

“It sounds interesting,” Donna says with an encouraging smile.

“It doesn’t sound half as good as it is. I never know how to present it right.”

“Do you have any of it written?”

“I have a treatment, plus a pilot and detailed notes for the next three episodes, but I am not showing those to _anyone_ in their current state.”

“All right, I’ll let you wiggle out of giving me details,” Donna says, “for now.”

* * *

Filming wraps up a few weeks later. Harvey immediately has Donna out doing auditions while Rachel stays with the project, helping Jessica with post-production. Still, the two women spend every possible night together.

“Ugh,” Rachel says, letting herself into Donna’s apartment one Friday night and collapsing immediately on her couch. “I’ve watched that damn teapot scene fifty times in the past eight hours.”

“Why?” Donna asks, pecking Rachel’s cheek and then taking a seat on the nearby ottoman.

“Jessica’s a worse perfectionist than I am, and so she is trying every possible combination of shots. If you weren’t in that scene, I would have put my fist through the screen by now.”

“Aww.”

“I’m serious! God knows I love everything about this film, even now, but I think your acting might be my favorite part.”

“Speaking of which–” Donna nudges Rachel’s leg with her foot– “do you by any chance want to go out for drinks?”

“Maybe. Is there a particular reason?”

“Well, alcohol might help you scrub the teapot scene from memory, though after fifty iterations that may no longer be possible . . . And also, I got cast today in that new Hamlet film.”

Rachel bolts upright. “What part?”

Ever so casually, she shrugs and says, “Ophelia.”

And then Rachel is leaping onto her, and they’re both squealing at the top of their lungs.

* * *

Less than an hour later, they’ve zipped one another into two of Donna’s fanciest cocktail dresses and headed to a bar.

“All right, we’re going to celebrate in grand fashion–” Donna begins.

“Without paying a dime.”

“Wait, how?”

“You’re the actress, you’ll catch on.”

And Donna watches Rachel swagger up to some guy, flash him her sexiest smile, and say, “Hi, I’m Michelle Ross.”

“I’m . . . Harriet Specter. The best goddamn closer this city has ever seen.”

“I’m the smartest paralegal on this coast.”

“I’m a COO who regularly rescues multi-billion dollar deals.”

“I’m a professional food critic.”

“I run an artificial intelligence start-up up in SF. VCs love me.”

For all Donna’s improvisational skill, Rachel undoubtedly wins the most free drinks. She stumbles back into Donna’s apartment far past tipsy and then throws her arms around her girlfriend, leaning in for a kiss.

“Hey, no–” Donna pushes her back– “I’m not taking advantage of you in this state.”

“What if I want you to take advantage of me?” she slurs.

Donna raises an eyebrow. “You really want that, huh?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“How about you show me your pilot?”

“Pilot?” she titters. “I don’t even have a plane yet.”

“Not that kind of pilot,” Donna laughs. “I mean the Jim-and-Reg pilot.”

“Ohhhh. Yeah. Yeah, it’s on my laptop.”

“Can we go look at it?”

“Sure!”

Donna maneuvers them over to the couch, and Rachel clumsily pulls her laptop from her bag and opens it, all the while muttering about how she’s going to get herself a jet one of these days, just you wait.

“Here,” she says, clicking on a file named ‘Law Dorks’ with a flourish. “Here is the meaning of life.”

“Go to sleep, Rachel.”

Rachel hums and burrows in her shoulder, mumbling, “Comfy.”

And when she nods off less than a minute later, Donna places a kiss on the top of her head and then starts reading.

* * *

“Oh, my god.”

Rachel awakes with a shudder on the couch, under the blankets Donna carefully draped over her.

“Oh, my _god_. Donna! Did you read it?”

“I read it–”

“Oh god, you hated it, didn’t you? Please, ugh, it wasn’t ready, I’m still working out the pacing, and there’s so many plot holes I have to fix–”

“And I loved it.”

Rachel stops mid-sentence. “What?”

“I want to hug Jim. I want to be Roberta. I want to worship at Katherine’s feet, and I _really_ want to see Reg naked.”

“What about Elizabeth?”

“Well, since she’s clearly just an adorable baby lawyer version of you, I want to cuddle with her on the couch–” Donna flops down and nuzzles Rachel’s neck– “and then smack her upside the head for not already being a Harvard lawyer, or, in real life, not already turning this genius of a story into an actual show.”

“Ow!” Rachel yelps as Donna really smacks her upside the head.

“Seriously, what’s the hold-up? You don’t need any LSATs to shop this script around, and god knows you have enough connections. Jessica alone would be able to put you in touch with people, and when you account for all your previous jobs and also the fact that you know me–”

“I don’t know how to pitch it,” Rachel blurts. “I don’t have a hook, I don’t have a good summary, I don’t even have a title at this point–”

“Two lawyers, one degree.”

Her eyes widen. “There’s my hook.”

“Mm-hmm. And one more question– are you aware of the sexual tension and possible burgeoning love between your two leads?”

“ _Aware_?” Rachel scoffs. “Donna, if I get to keep even the slightest bit of control– and I will, because no network is going to push me around on this– those two are ending up married.”

“Perfect. Now run with the hook, get this story out there and go take over the world.”

“On it!” She snatches up her laptop and bag and scampers out of the apartment.

“And when you end up tackily rich I get to share your jet,” Donna calls after her.

* * *

Rachel turns terribly secretive about her progress with the show, and Donna doesn’t pry– not directly, anyway. Soon, she gets swept up by the buzz around her own accomplishments. From the first reviews, _Firm_ is a hit with critics, and they rave over her performance in particular. She knew they would, but still there’s something downright magical about looking at an article and seeing her name in the same sentence as the words “Oscar buzz.”

Due to the timing of the film’s release, _Firm_ misses the deadline for the Golden Globes, but other nominations and awards start filtering in, along with interview requests. The reporters ask Donna about her love life, and she plays coy, sending them all off with different and increasingly implausible stories until they know not to even bother.

She spends long stretches of time off filming _Hamlet_ in Scandinavia, so fortunately she avoids the worst of the paparazzi harassment. Still, there’s definitely someone camped out across the road from her house when she comes back to L.A.

“I don’t think we should meet at my place,” she says, calling Rachel up on Skype. “I’m being low-key stalked.”

“I don’t care if the paps see me,” Rachel replies. “If they realize we’re a couple, hey, I’ll just spin it into publicity for the show!”

“Lemonade outta lemons.” Donna grins before turning serious again. “But seriously . . . I don’t know if I want to come out yet, publicly.”

Something shifts in Rachel’s expression. “Wait, what?”

“Maybe you’ve been sheltered because you’ve grown up in Hollywood, and California cities are just generally good about these things, but . . . It’s not like that everywhere. And I don’t want to rock the boat for the film during awards season.”

“Jessica wouldn’t care. Hell, she’d try and spin it as good publicity too–”

“And what if she can’t?” Donna interrupts. “It’s not fair to her to throw that kind of bombshell out there, not before the Oscars.”

“Then what about after the Oscars?”

“I– I don’t know.”

“So, what?” Rachel snaps. “You just want us to spend the rest of our lives sneaking around and having dates on Skype?”

“Rachel–”

“I’m going to talk to to you later, but I need a little time for myself right now.”

She disconnects.

* * *

_Actress in a Leading Role._

There she is on the Academy Award nominations list. There’s Donna Paulsen, right between Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep.

But Rachel’s “little time” has stretched into weeks, and so it doesn’t feel quite like a victory.

* * *

The day before the Oscars, there’s a knock on her door.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Can I come in?”

Donna steps aside and lets Rachel into her apartment. She’s dressed professionally, with a briefcase in one hand and a file in the other.

“In case you’re worried,” she says as soon as Donna shuts the door, “I’ve been meeting with everyone from _Firm_ who’s going to the Oscars to go over some simple red carpet do’s and don’ts, so nobody’s going to read too much into this. I just came from Jessica’s place, and I’m heading over to Mike right after this.”

“To his house?”

“No,” Rachel frowns, “he wants to meet at Hot Dog on a Stick.”

Simultaneously, they whisper “strange child,” before falling silent.

“How have you been?” Rachel asks with a soft smile.

“I don’t know,” Donna answers, frowning. “Everything’s good, everything’s bad, it’s all a bit overwhelming right now.”

“I’m sorry for dropping off the face of the planet like that,” Rachel replies. “You just took me by surprise that day, because I forget sometimes how much the world sucks.”

“And that’s what I like about you, you know that?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re a silly, pessimistic worrywart on the small scale, but when there’s a big problem, you are the bravest woman I know. You just march right in with your head held high, and you ignore anybody who would dare stand in your way.”

“That’s . . . really sweet. And I agree, I am somewhat brash when someone tells me I can’t be who I am or have something I want, which is why I didn’t want to talk to you until I figured things out–”

“Rachel–”

“Wait, let me finish.” She inhales deeply. “My parents raised me to be an open person. I don’t try to hide who I am, or what I believe, or who I love– none of it. And yet you’re asking me to hide us from the rest of the world, and I understand why you’re doing it, but it goes against the core of who I am. Do you understand that?”

“I do.”

“And I’ll do it.”

“What?”

“You’re asking me to defraud the whole world, and I’ll do it. For you. Because I happen to be in love with you, and I know you love me too.”

Her eyes go wide. “I do.”

“I know.”

Donna swallows hard. “This isn’t fair to you, is it?”

“All’s fair in love and business.” She shrugs, trying to act casual, and continues, “Anyway, we have actual work. I gotta get you all ready for tomorrow. Do you have an acceptance speech drafted?”

Donna rolls her eyes. “Why would I? It’s not like I’m going to win.”

* * *

“And the award goes to . . . Donna Paulsen.”

“Wait, what?” Donna blinks and turns to her mother, her plus-one for the night. “What just happened?”

“You just won,” her mother says, beaming back at her.

“Wait, _what_?”

As she goes up to the podium, she focuses on not tripping over her gown and also on adjusting herself to the new world order. Because really, she’s more than a queen tonight– she is a goddess. She can do whatever the hell she wants.

Can’t she?

“I don’t have note cards, or any notes at all, because according to the gambling sites there was a 5.78% chance I would be up here tonight. If I forget someone and thus lose a lifelong friendship, I’m suing said sites for emotional damages,” she jokes, and the audience gives a warm laugh. “First of all, thank you to the Academy, and to the cast and crew of _Firm_ – Jessica, congratulations on your Best Director award, may it be the first of many. I also have to thank Harvey Specter, my agent, for actually being as good as he says he is– not an easy task–” thanks to his reputation in this town, that gets another laugh– “and to the other nominees, all of whom inspire me everyday . . .”

She ticks off all the typical boxes of an Oscars speech, and it’s not hard– she’s been watching them since before she could read. People start zoning out, she knows, and she keeps her cool and plods along all the way to the end–

“Thank you to my parents for not forcing me into a so-called ‘sensible career.’ And thank you most of all to the person who held my hand and taught me about this character and this world, who ran lines with me, who held me after the teapot scene sent me into a nervous breakdown– the woman I love, Rachel Zane. Thank you all, and have a good night!”

The room is silent for a moment, and then she gets a standing ovation.

* * *

“So tell me,” Donna strolls up to the bar at a particularly exclusive Oscars afterparty, “how screwed is my career?”

Harvey turns to her, one eyebrow raised. “Why would your career be screwed?”

She raises an eyebrow of her own. “Because I just came out on the largest stage in what is still an intensely discriminatory industry?”

“The fact that you picked the biggest stage works in your favor– this town can’t resist high drama.”

“Harvey.”

“Okay–” he takes a sip from his scotch– “let me ask _you_ a question. How could your career possibly be screwed, when you just won Best Actress, your film would have won Best Picture if things were even a little less rigged, and your agent is even better than he says he is?”

She resists the urge to roll her eyes.

“Here’s my advice. Just give some thoughtful interviews, don’t make broad statements you don’t mean, and stay the hell off Twitter for a few weeks. I’ll handle the rest. Even if offers slow down in film– which I highly doubt– you’ve got options elsewhere.”

“What’s worth doing elsewhere?”

“TV, Netflix–”

“Broadway?” she says hopefully.

He shrugs. “I wouldn’t count it out.”

Donna grins at that. “Hey, how’d you get in here anyway? Whose plus-one are you?”

He looks at her in mock-offense. “Excuse me? I can get into any after-party in the city on the strength of the Specter brand–”

“He’s here because I brought him.”

Donna turns with a start and finds Mike behind her, smirking.

“Firstly, congrats to you and Rachel, and remember not to feed the internet trolls unless you’re trolling them back. And there will be trolls. That said, I personally welcome you as Hollywood’s bisexual overlord.”

“What am I,” Harvey protests, “chopped liver?”

“Secondly–” Mike barrels on as if he didn’t hear– “congrats on taking home a naked man.” He reaches out to stroke the golden statuette in the crook of Donna’s arm. “Still not as pretty as mine, but you’ll make do.”

“Kid, you have to stop calling me ‘pretty,’” Harvey sighs, shaking his head.

“I call him all sorts of things, and he loves it,” Mike mutters in conspiratorial fashion to Donna. She just stares as he leans in, plants a kiss on Harvey’s cheek, and says, “See you around, babe. I got networking to do, just like you taught me.”

“Just like I taught you?”

“Okay, maybe not just like you taught me, I don’t really want to deal with sexual harassment suits . . .”

“Get out,” Harvey commands with a wave of hand, but Donna notes the clear fondness in his expression. He turns to see her gaping at him. “What?”

“On the one hand, I now understand how he affords the omakase set. On the other hand, on what planet are you two dating?”

Harvey frowns. “What, am I not good enough for him?”

“What– what? No, I’m thinking the other way around.”

His eyes widen, and then he bursts into chuckles. “Oh, Jesus, he’s trying not to scare the mundanes again.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’d say he’s a modern-day Einstein, but that doesn’t actually do Mike’s brain justice. Once he reads something, he understands it. Once he understands something, he never forgets it. He plays the genius angle down because it freaks people out, but I think he overdoes the act sometimes.”

“Wait, he has a perfect memory?”

“Yep,” Harvey says, smiling into his scotch.

“Oh, my god, that’s just like–”

“Hey, Rachel’s here,” he says, and Donna halts mid-sentence and whirls around to look.

Rachel’s standing at the entrance of the room, downright stunning in an all-black gown– it’d never play on the red carpet, but here in this dark, crowded club she takes Donna’s breath away.

“Harvey.” She nods to him as she strides forward.

“Rachel, good to see you. I’ll give you two some space,” Harvey says before slipping away.

Donna can feel all the other eyes in the room on them, but she doesn’t care, not when Rachel is beaming at her, throwing her arms around her, kissing her and then pulling her close. “You’re the bravest woman _I_ know, you know that?”

“I did it for you. It wasn’t fair to make you hide.”

“And I am so proud of you for that. And also for winning an Oscar. You know, that’s kinda cool too,” she chuckles.

“From what I hear, _you’ll_ be up for awards next.”

They share a look.

“Donna, how did you know?”

“I know everything. Seriously, did you think your show could get picked up for a pilot without my knowledge?”

“I obviously should have known better,” Rachel laughs. “Anyway, I’ve gotta figure out casting now, and I have the worst idea, and I need your help to make it a reality.”

“What role are we talking about?”

“Reg.”

“Who do you have in mind?”

“Harvey.”

“Not the strangest thing I’ve heard all day, and that says a lot about today.”

“Bear with me– because of my dad’s work, I saw Harvey all the time growing up, and I definitely patterned a lot of Reg’s personality off of him.”

“But Harvey isn’t an actor–”

“But he was once! All through his childhood he was trying to break into the industry, and he did actually make it when he was in college, his senior year. He got cast in nothing less than a _Bond movie_.”

“Why didn’t I know about this?” Donna exclaims.

“He broke his shoulder right before shooting, got replaced, and never got another role. Then he went off to Harvard Business– so he could control casting for a change, I guess. But I dug up his old audition tapes, and he was incredible. I can’t believe he’s given up on acting entirely, even now.”

Donna thinks about it for a moment. “He does sometimes treat his life as a role.”

“Yeah, I don’t know if he’s shown a genuine expression in the past decade.”

She barks out a laugh before saying, “You’d be surprised. His boyfriend gets a surprising amount of honest caring out of him.”

“He’s in a _relationship_?”

“With an actor, who incidentally might have an eidetic memory like Jim and definitely has a hell of a lot of chemistry with Harvey.”

“Oh my god, who?”

“Mike Ross.”

Rachel’s jaw drops. “Our strange child?”

“Our strange child’s all grown up, and potentially a great cast opposite Harvey’s Reg.”

“Well, then, please excuse me for being busy on your special night, but I’ve got to go talk to Harvey.”

“Oh, I’m coming with you. I’ve had practice persuading him to do ridiculous things, and also I fully intend to give you all the support that you’re willing to take.”

“Marvelous,” she says, pressing one more kiss to Donna’s mouth. Then she takes her by the hand and leads her over to the table Harvey’s claimed. “Let’s find ourselves ‘the best closer in New York.’”

“Hey,” Donna asks before they quite pounce on their victim, “what’d you end up calling the show?”

“’A Legal Mind.’”

“That’s funny– ‘a legal,’ ‘illegal,’” Donna muses. “But still, I feel like we can do better than that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the following prompt: "canon divergence – Donna never became a legal secretary. Instead, she followed her dream and studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute (or any stage school of your choice). She’s now a successful actress and has just received her first Oscar nomination."
> 
> In this AU, writers post fanfic where Jim and Reg are actors playing characters named Patrick and Gabriel.


End file.
